


A Normal Life....

by 8cheshirekat



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Twins, Character Death, F/F, F/M, Female Friendship, Female Relationships, Good Loki, M/M, Magical Artifacts, Male Slash, Male-Female Friendship, Original Character Death(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-28
Updated: 2013-11-28
Packaged: 2018-01-02 20:30:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1061292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/8cheshirekat/pseuds/8cheshirekat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"If I were not beyond help, wouldn't you want to kill me?"<br/>"I couldn't kill you. I don't think that's possible."</p>
<p>When they find a universe that's a world apart from what they're used to, something changes. Without powers and unseen by anyone else, the Avengers have to learn what's with this world they've stumbled into. But if push comes to shove, will they give in to save this strange world and return home?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Falling Into It

**Author's Note:**

> The two agents, Anastasia Kayle Zimmermann and Yvonne Peters, are from another fan fic I'm working on, but they kinda fit in here.

There was always that feeling, but as Tony stod there, the feeling became greater as he lifted his arms.

They were strewn out behind him, bleeding, hurting, dying.

"Step aside," said that menacing voice. She raised the gun. As she did, she armed it. "Or do you truly want to die?"

Tony slowly closed his eyes. The sudden whine of the Arc Reactor echoed in the rubble as he lifted his face to the sky. He quietly opened his eyes. "I'm going to be selfish for once. I want to die, please. I know I can save them if I die. But its so crazy here that I don't want to be here anymore."

There was a sudden burn and Tony remembered how they had wound up in this situation to begin with.

\---

Steve and Bruce were intently watching Loki, who had, in some instance, really showed that he could be helpful, like right now.

There was a strange pulse that seemed to be linked to Loki's mind, because when Loki arrived, it stopped.

The pulse had rendered Tony's Arc Reactor mute, turning off, but Tony felt fine. He didn't feel the shrapnel anymore. It also seemed to have turned off the Hulk in Bruce's head. Bruce was so scared something was wrong that he actually had them check and they found nothing wrong with his blood, he was fully normal again.

But it was because Loki and Thor had run into each other. Loki had been flipping out when Thor had arrived to find his brother huddled under a roof in the rain and his hands over his ears and crying like a little child.

Now, Steve and Bruce were watching Loki and Tony put their heads together to try and figure out where the pulse was coming from and why Loki was in charge of what was happening with it.

Tony breathed hard. "Well, we found it." He ran his hands through his hair and then over his face before he gave Bruce a glance. "Don't take this the wrong way, okay? Just know that I'm absolutely sure that it's only connected to Loki because he's 'magically' inclined. Does that make sense?"

Bruce shrugged. "How do we get to the source?"

Tony pointed. "We can take a jet and get there."

Thor walked in. "Perhaps we can simply walk to it?" he asked, it becoming clear he didn't think it was too far away. "Everything is walking distance. Yes?"

"No." Tony stood up. "If we could walk, that would be fantastic!" He tapped his ear. "Agent Zimmermann, mind giving us a lift?"

A woman walked into the room and threw her com on the desk. "On one condition."

And so, they were off.

Steve noticed it before anyone else did. Before they got within twenty miles, he saw blue streaks of light shooting in the direction. He went to the two pilots, Agents Zimmermann and Peters, and gestured. "What is that?"

Peters blinked and she looked at Zimmermann. "Is that...?"

"I hope not." She started to angle down, avoiding a sudden bolt of lightning from where they were headed. "You guys sure you want to go through that thing?"

Tony tapped his Arc Reactor. "Well, since this thing's come back on and we feel normal, we better find out what's going on." The helmet shut and he pushed the door to open and took a running leap off and went to engage in the strange things that were swarming the front of the craft.

"Agent Zimmermann, I'll make an opening, but you'd better abandon ship. I think they're coming to destroy it."

She nodded to Hawkeye as he and Thor took off. She faced forward again and her eyes steeled as she tried to get closer so the remaining Avengers and Loki could land safely, wherever it was to be a landing sight for them.

The swarm took over her vision and she quickly shut off the cockpit from the rest of the plane. Her eyes softened. "Sorry, Agent Barton, Mr. Stark. Looks like we're not going to make it."

The others realized they were going to die and abandoned ship. The last was Steve and he looked back just once and took a deep breath. He closed his eyes and turned, falling from the plane. He angled towards the island as a swarm consumed the plane and he realized they were lanky-limbed creatures and they tore at the metal.

He looked back and saw a spark. He pulled himself up tight and hid behind his shield. It ejected him faster towards the island as lightning rained around him and shrapnel still on fire went falling passed.

Steve saw a glint and turned his head as a small pendant went spiralling down. It was a small, silver circle with a blue orb in the center.

Zimmermann's family heirloom was soon out of Steve's sight and he closed his eyes, praying she would be safe wherever she believed she was going to end up.

And then reality struck him.

Loki's blood-curling scream of agony was all he heard before he saw a rush of light and saw something way off in the distance that he seemed to be heading right for.

Closer and closer until he realized there was someone looking up at him.

Her eyes were a beautiful shade of amber and her unruly hair was blowing in a soft breeze. Her eyes suddenly grew wider and wider until someone speared her in the stomach.

Steve pulled his shield up and braced as he and the others landed in various places in various positions.

He rolled to the side and faced the sky, trying to breath. He felt like someone had swept the wind right out of him with a swift punch to the stomach.

Then, he saw amber eyes and he gasped.

"Don't move! Please, don't move." She held his head still. "Stay put."

Steve sat up as she ran away. He realized he wasn't wearing his uniform, he was in street cloths. Not five feet away was Tony, face-down.

The girl pulled and then rolled him onto his back. She pressed her ear to his chest and then started CPR on him. "STEPH! Got a dead one!"

There was a sudden rush and Steve saw another girl run over and slide beside her friend. She gently pushed her friend away and thundered her fist onto Tony's chest and he gasped, choking a bit, before he looked at the two girls.

"Who are they?" Steph asked, looking around.

"I have no idea, but we'd better come up with an excuse or Mrs. Carter's gonna kill us for bringing boys on campus."

"STEPH!"

The blond jumped a mile and shot to her feet. "STEPHE! Get back! You know you're not allowed on my campus."

"I saw stuff falling out of the sky and wanted to see what's going on." Stephe's eyes were a sterling sapphire shade and he had blond hair that put gold to shame. "Oh my god! Are they okay?!"

"Well, they fell from the sky." Steph made a face and then turned back to Stephe. "Look, just stay on your side of the fence. I'm gonna try and take care of this, okay?"

He nodded.

Steve suddenly felt the girl push him down and blinked. The brunette was checking his arms and legs before he pulled away from her. "Stop. I'm fine."

"Dude, you just fell from, what? 10,000 feet up. I want to make sure everything still works, so, bear with me."

"I'm fine. Where am I?"

The girl opened her mouth and shut it and then repeated this a few times before another girl walked up and crouched down.

A blue and silver glint shone in the morning sun. She smiled at Steve. "You're on an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. We're the academic school for the strange. I'm Anastasia Culson." She held out her hand and realized Steve's eyes were wide with shock. "What?"

"N-nothing."

"Technically, her name is Zimmermann, but her mom's got a hyphenated name. She likes her step-dad and his family more."

Anastasia slapped the brunette on the back of the head. She smiled kindly at Steve again. "It's okay, nobody knows you're here. If you want to hide, you can hide. There's lots of places to hide around here."

Steve slowly nodded, his eyes fixed on the pendant on her choker. He blinked and looked up.

Steph sighed and knelt down. "Here, let me help you up." She guided him to his feet and he saw the others getting to their feet. Steph smiled brightly at Steve. "My name is Stephain Rogers. That's my twin brother, Stephen Rogers. We attend this school."

Steve blinked and looked around at the boy and realized that, staring at the boy, he was quite concerned for the Avengers and their well being.

"What's the meaning of this?!"

Steph made an eek as the other two girls shot to their feet and quickly smoothed out the matching skirts and blazers. They quickly put their hands behind their backs, raised their heads and rolled their shoulders back.

Steve dove for cover behind a wall of bleachers.

A woman with dark brown hair curled in her ponytail and lush, full lips came marching over. She crossed her arms and stood as if she were mad at the three girls. "What's going on here?"

"Mrs. Carter, we did not mean any harm," Anastasia said, smooth and kind.

"Why are you covered in mud?"

Steph and Anastasia flinched before the brunette with the amber eyes bowed her head. "I was simply trying something new and was caught in the mud, Mrs. Carter."

Mrs. Carter's eyes suddenly looked around at the craters. She didn't seem to see the men and woman standing near them. With a sigh she closed her eyes and pressed her fingers into her forehead. "Was this another dodge exercise?"

The other two lowered their heads.

"Very well, get to class. Mr. Rogers, leave and don't be late for class."

"Yes, ma'am!" Steve's voice said from the other side and he ran off, his feet fading away.

She turned back to the three girls. "Get along."


	2. The Strangest Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the roof, the Avengers meet other strange characters....

Bruce was standing on the roof with the others as they watched the three girls. He sighed and turned and saw there was another building.

After taking a head count, they were missing Loki, but otherwise, they were all accounted for. So, they decided to stand out of the way of the girls, deciding they might be the best bet.

"What do you think that is over there?" Bruce asked, shielding his eyes from the sun as he looked over.

"It's the teacher's housing." A boy pulled himself up the fire escape. He was wearing shades and he looked like he'd just woken up, hair a mess, tie loose, shirt untucked and sneakers instead of dress shoes, quite the opposite of Stephe. "They collect in there and a jet takes them off the island and we're left alone until dawn." He pulled out a cigarette and lit it up, throwing the lit match on the concrete floor before walking to the edge they were sitting on.

"Not afraid of us?"

"Psh, I'm more afraid of Carter. That mean woman's got a good nail claw to be reckoned with. Besides, I'm not here for you guys." He lowered his shades and saw the girls playing rugby. "It's almost time for the teachers to take off, so, I'm here to find my sister."

"Who's your sister?"

He pointed and his finger followed one of them. "That one. The firecracker." He smirked as she and another girl got into a scuffle. "That's mah girl."

A siren suddenly blared and the Avengers flinched and ducked as the boy turned and made a victory with his arms. He yelled a loud "woo" as the siren went off, his cigarette in his left hand as he turned back to the girls.

The teachers filed into the building as a jet came soaring down.

The boy turned and, when the siren went off, screamed a very gutted, animalistic yell and the girls screamed back with a vicious sound.

"Welcome to Legendary Outcasted School for the Terrible!" he yelled to the Avengers as the boys started yelling and loud bangs were heard as the teachers took off.

"What is this place?" Steve asked in shock when he heard someone else come up the stairs and open the door.

Four boys walked in, all laughing and joking about something.

"TONY!"

The boy threw his hands up like he was saying "boo-ya!" and his hands draped over one particular boy. "So, how was your day?"

"You need to stop ditching!"

Tony shrugged and gestured. "Boys, meet these weird ghosts. I think they're ghosts. Are you ghosts? No, don't answer that. They're a figment of Loki's imagination."

"Like I could imagine that," said 'Loki' in disgust. His eyes were an almost white blue and he had his hair tied back in a short ponytail. "Look, I know I'm twisted and kind of rude, but that's just mean to think I'd imagine them up. Besides, Stephe seems happy."

"Stephe!"

He was kneeling by the door, sketching in a notebook, glancing up at Tony Stark. He blinked and then made a soft laugh. "Heh, sorry. I just love the way the sun's hitting him right now."

Tony smirked and leaned on the boy who was watching the Avengers. "Do you think they're from here?"

Tony kissed the boy's forehead. "Nope. I can tell."

"Because you're such a good judge of character?" The brunette was pulling herself up. As she leaned forward, a sudden gold light shone from her chest, close to her neck. She twisted and turned and landed nicely beside Tony. She lifted her foot and it came down hard on Tony's foot and he yelped. "Besides, they could be like Loki and just like to play rough and came from somewhere else...."

Loki made a face. "Just because I'm weird doesn't mean you can make fun of me!"

She waved a hand and approached the Avengers. "Tell me, are you even from earth?"

"What is this place?" Steve asked, approaching her. "Where are we?"

"You're at LOST, it's a school." Anastasia struggled to pull herself up, but managed it all the same and smiled at Steve as she got up, dusting herself off. "This was an established hospital for a while, but it was abandoned and SHIELD took over."

"What was this place originally?"

The brunette smirked. "Tony and I found out all you need to know."  
Tony smiled and got off the boy and walked over to the girl. He reached under his shirt and a sudden blue light lit up. "This school was originally the test sight for the Super Soldier project from SHIELD during World War II. When it failed and the original Super Soldier died from complications, the project was abandoned and this facility fell to ruins."

"After that, SHIELD took over and created an artificial AI to watch over the students here." The brunette touched her chest and then smiled at her brother. "Stark Industries created it. It keeps us sane and acts like our guardian." She suddenly smacked her forehead. "Ugh, forgot. My name is Antoinette Stark." She smiled a crooked but kind smile. "I'm usually called Tino. Or Toni if you're in a hurry."

Tony made a face at something. "Looks like it's cold enough. Might actually snow."

"I hope so," said Anastasia. She looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. "The snow sounds nice right now. Wash away the color and fill the world with something fresh and pure."

"HOLD THAT THOUGHT!" Loki was writing on his hand with an orange Sharpie. "Sorry." He looked at the Avengers as Stephe sat down and started sketching them, getting lost in it. Narrowing his eyes, Loki realized they were giving him a once-over. "Like the tacky uniforms with plaid and pathetic brown? It's to make us feel 'uniform' and 'all' instead of 'individual', if you get that."

Anastasia giggled and leaned over Stephe's shoulder. "But we've learned we're different and unwanted, why else would be here?" She touched Stephe's shoulder. "That's amazing."

Tony leaned near the Avengers and bit his lip, watching the boy he'd been leaning on earlier. "What's amazing is that you guys pierced the barrier without trying. Most people don't even get that far wich means Loki's spell worked."

Loki made a face. "None of them can get home without one of us dying to get them there."

"So?" Tony gestured behind him. "There's millions of them behind us."

"No."

The boy Tony had leaned on walked over and sat next to Tony. "You know, people might agree with you more if you were nicer." He leaned and his head rested on Tony's shoulder. "Besides, maybe they want our lives. A normal life without complications of being an adult. Living on an island that is run by minors."

Tony perked up. "That reminds me! We should go into the town!"

Stephe sighed. "Tony, just because we've got guests that have never been here doesn't mean they want to see our makeshift town."

Tony was about to protest when Tino stepped in. "I know, but, I mean, come ON, Stephe! We can go into town and say hi to people. It's not like they're going to upset JARVIS anymore than they may already have."

Stephe sighed and got up. "Well, there was that one movie I wanted to see...."

"Then we're going?" Loki asked.

Stephe ran a hand through his hair. "Yup. Looks like we are." He held up a hand to his friends. "However, we have to convince JARVIS not to inspect us. I'm not sure if he'll find them."

Loki pulled a face and sighed. He looked at his hand and then looked at the Avengers. "You know, that's the first time my magic spell actually worked."

As he said that, something seemed to fuzz to life in the middle of the roof.

A gentleman with brown hair parted to one side, eyes that looked as green as a motherboard, and a sharp suit with a trench coat that swept the floor by his dress shoes. "Forgive me, but I would like permission to speak with Loki Laufeyson and Thor Odinson, if you do not mind. It is concerning your mother."

Loki's face paled as Thor stood up from the doorway.


	3. The Odd Ones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Climbing to the roof, what do they see now?

The Avenger Thor slowly got to his feet.

The brunette figure slowly raised his right hand and then gracefully bowed, his eyes sliding closed as he did so. "Your mother has been admitted to a hospital. Her condition is stable, but the doctors are unsatisfied with her condition. Your father requests that you not worry. The therapy has been working and she will be fine soon."

Loki balled a fist and then took a deep breath. "Anything else?"

"Yes, your younger sister wishes to see you in town. She does not wish to see Thor Odinson as she believes him the devil."

Thor stepped forward. "Is she gonna be okay?"

"Yes. The doctor she obtained has been taking very good care of her. She was admitted at ten am this morning and has since improved."

"Thank you JARVIS." Loki seemed to be unsure as JARVIS stood tall again. "May we all go into town?"

"Certainly. Curfew stands at ten tonight. If you are not in bed by then, I will be forced to take action, sir." He turned and his eyes widened as his eyes fell on the men.

Stephe made a face and ran right through JARVIS, causing the figure to vanish. "Let's go! Hurry! Before JARVIS comes back."

The thrill of running away from JARVIS left the teenagers with a thrilling laugh and they were met by a few others.

Finally, on a dirt path, Tony turned around. "HEAD COUNT! TONY!"

And they followed, yelling their names.

"BRUCE AND BARBRA!"

"STEPHE AND STEPH!"

"LOKI!"

"THOR!"

"ANASTASIA!"

"TINO!"

"NAT AND CLINT!"

"Yvonne." She was quiet beside Anastasia, but she had a bright smile as she and Anastasia started doing the monkey walk. "So, why were we running?"

"Stephe ran through JARVIS again." Anastasia giggled, covering her mouth. "He had such a cute face!"

"Ssh! Before he hears you." Yvonne giggled and saw the Avengers following at a steady pace. "Let's hope we don't have to use our abilities."

"Yeah, because Stan Lee would so show up and turn us into comic book superheroes." Anastasia sounded so sad when she said that. "Immortalize us into a picture that's out of myths and legends and some old guys imagination."

"Stephe wants to see the new Thor movie...."

"SSSHH!" Anastasia covered Yvonne's mouth. "They're from another world! To them, the Avengers are real! I mean, look at them! How do you fake that?!" she hissed in whispers. "Also, if we go see that movie, I'm not sure how well Stephe's gonna hold up. You know him and drawing Norse gods...."

"True." Yvonne suddenly smiled at Anastasia. "So, should we go to the cafe?"

"Yeah. We'll take a few of them to ease the tension around here."

"TOO LATE!" Loki stood with his arms crossed before the two girls as Thor yelled at them. "I'm taking that one and we're going to explore. Loki's going with Yvonne and you and you take Star Spangled Man over there. Tony and Tino are taking the metal man and Bruce and Barbra are taking the huge green rage guy."

As they were speaking, Yvonne released Anastasia and her eyes met Loki's and he seemed to be unable to look at her. Yvonne looked away and Anastasia took their hands. "Let's go! We can visit the cafe!"

"W-wait! I need to see my sister f-first!" Loki stumbled behind her.

Steve started following them as Natasha and Clint followed the group of four they were stuck with. He felt that ping of pain, hearing her laugh and remembering Anastasia from his world. He could still see her pendant flying away, into the distant ocean. It still gleamed and flashed Steven in the face as it helplessly flew away, wildly spinning.

"Hey, Blondie!"

He blinked and realized Loki had stopped and held his hand out. "I can make you visible, but not as yourself, if you want." The orange Sharpie became clear as he held his hand out. "The sun doesn't go down for an hour and we want to be in the cafe before then so you can see something that might cheer you up."

Steve kept his hands in his jacket. "I'm fine, thanks."

Loki slowly lowered his hand and looked away. "So, I am the bad guy in your world. I'm so sorry for anything, but I'm not like him. I do have moments of relapse into anger, but I swear to you, I mean no harm. If I hurt you, find it in your heart to forgive me." He held his head high and proud and started walking away.

Yvonne and Anastasia gripped their hands and then they both looked at Steve. As creepy as it sounded, they said, in unison; "Do you want to feel better?"

Steve winced and ignored them. He started following Loki for no particular reason.

Yvonne's hand began to shake and Anastasia gripped it harder. "We'll be okay. It hurts now, but I'm sure that somethings will get better. Maybe they can find out what's inside JARVIS's building. I don't know. But I do know Loki will come around."

Yvonne swallowed and then smiled. "I never doubt why we're friends."

The two girls took off and, as they ran passed, Yvonne's hand grabbed Steve's right out of his sleeve and his shadow formed as they kept running. Anastasia, laughing loudly, grabbed Loki's swinging hand and the troupe stumbled and ran right to the cafe at the center of the small town.

The two girls lead the boys into the cafe and they got drinks and climbed to the roof.

Steve stood aside and watched them. Anastasia got back up and walked over to him. "Come closer, we won't bite."

"I'm good here."

"Did I do something to you?"

Steve shook his head and looked down at his cup. "It's not something you did."

Anastasia leaned on the lightning rod that Steve was leaning on. "Then why do you always look so sad? Are you out of time or something? If you're dying, I'm sure whomever she is will gladly wait to join you." She smiled sadly. "I lost my brother, Phil, to a plane crash. He was seven and I was five. He shoved me out of the plane as it was catching fire. I had no parachute and the plane was taking us to LOST. I didn't want to fight it, I wanted to die."

Steve was about to stop her when Loki came over. "We're the odd ones."

"What?"

Loki threw his jacket at Steve's feet and rolled his sleeves up. He took the hair tie out and was facing the sun as he held his arms out, stretching. "Nobody really liked us. We, three, who came here together, have been close friends and allies in many cases. We were finally accepted into a society that didn't shun us because we were different." He turned his head up and closed his eyes as wind swept through his hair. "I can feel the snow coming."

Yvonne curled up. "Here it comes."

Steve looked up and saw what they wanted him to see.


	4. The First Signs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While trying to explain, an unknown enemy comes to try to kill them....

The four of them looked out, across the island and towards the ocean.

The rays of light softly glistened off the surface. Loki threw his arms out and a burst of ice shards burst off him and Steve threw his arms up but then looked around.

Light shone through them as they were frozen in mid air, connected to nothing. There was a beauty about the way the ice reflected the ocean's gleams of the light all over the town. It shed pieces of beautiful orange and gold streams of light everywhere.

Steve slowly stood up and then he heard the minors yelling and applauding as Loki's head slowly rolled back, his arms still held out. Light began to stream off him in gold and green swirls that faded away. "What...?"

Yvonne smiled at him. "It's Loki's powers. He can create ice from his body, we don't know how, and uses it to manipulate the setting sun and it entertains us. Loki just likes the feeling of the sun at dusk like this." She slowly inhaled and then softly exhaled. "Loki, Anastasia and I are the only ones on this island that enjoy it here. Everyone else wants to get out."

"Why?" Steve asked, slowly realizing this was a very different place. He could see how being alone would be a bad thing.

"Because here we can be unrelenting and free." Anastasia rubbed her thumb over Steve's shoulder as she walked by and went to her still steaming cup of hot chocolate. "Besides, here, we can be as weird as we are and not be judged so cruelly. The world rejected us for a reason, I'm sure we're all here for a reason."

Steve walked over to Loki and leaned over, looking at the smooth, pale face. Loki's eyes slowly opened as he looked up at the sky. "I wish I lived in your world. I wish I could be something more. Be grown and do something."

"Trust me, where I come from, you and Thor are arch enemies. Although, I think Ragnarok killed you at some point."

Loki's smile became sad as he lowered his arms. The ice seemed to vaporize as the fading light left it. "Surprisingly expected. She would harm me if it meant keeping the peace."

"What?" Steve asked, giving Loki a once-over.

"My sister. She's only ten, but she knows that killing me could be the best thing for me sometimes." Loki rolled his sleeves back down and put his jacket back on. "But at least I made something of myself. Here, there's nothing for me to become, other than a stepping stone for my dear brother."

"You love him?"

"He did swim out to me in frigid waters when death was creeping onto me, so, yes. I owe him a great debt, but his parents have kind of made it clear I and Thor can be brothers, but only in words." Loki brushed his sleeves off and put his hands in his pockets. "I'm not surprised that they would say something like that." He looked up again. "Someday, death will claim me and I'm ready to go."

"Most of us are."

Stephe leaned on the lightning rod and smiled at them. "I got ditched."

Steve blinked and looked at the bustling town of teenagers and children. "It reminds me of the fairy tale of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys. This place is filled with kids."

"And JARVIS," Stephe commented. "Which reminds me, you're strong, think you could bust down a door?"

Steve turned. "I am NOT breaking and entering."  
"It's not really breaking AND entering. JARVIS might need some fresh air." Stephe looked at Anastasia and blinked. "What? Look, I told you, I don't want your affection. You should save it for someone who can return it."

Anastasia smiled sadly and took a deep breath. A cool, cold, familiar expression etched onto her face that Steve knew all too well. It was her normal face he'd grown to recall a lot. "Won't matter. But I do see the appeal of your life, Steve."

He blinked and then tilted his head to the side. "Huh?"

Loki grabbed Steve and pulled him down as a blast of bright light electrified a path to the sky. He got back to his feet and pulled a keychain out of his pocket. Gripping it, Loki's eyes flared open with a bright green flash and he was holding a scepter.

Anastasia pulled back and knelt beside Steve, resting her hand on his shoulder as she looked away. Wind picked up and she seemed unmoved.

Stephe stepped forward. He clenched his fist around a pen and a shield spun to life around his arm and he stood beside Loki. "Where did they come from? They're not due until the first snowfall."

"I realize that."

Anastasia turned towards the town and lifted her fingers to her lips. With a quick, deep inhale, she let out a shrill, ear-splitting, blood-curling whistle.

Thor came thundering down from out of nowhere and landed on the ground in front of the cafe, a small pendant in his hand. Tony and Tino came running up from the building next door to stand on the roof, both glowing form the chest in blue and gold. Steph pulled herself onto the cafe roof, a small pendant tied around her fist. Bruce and Barbra came running down the main street. Nat and Clint dropped out of nowhere.

Steve sat up and was amazed.

They were crowding around Yvone and Anastasia.

Yvonne looked out and narrowed her eyes. "From the West!" She pointed. "Bruce! Clint! Take out that thing! Tony, Tino, Steph, clear out the town! Get everyone into JARVIS's bunker!"

They took her lead.

Bruce suddenly jumped, from the road, onto the roof. His eyes were glowing a radiant green. He was about to take off when Clint drew back his bow and shot an arrow, creating a stream of fire that Bruce quickly followed.

Tony and Tino both took a running leap off the two story building and both landed in two similar suits before they swept up Steph and started herding everyone towards a rather large spire-like tower.

Yvonne pointed at Anastasia and Loki. "Collect those strangers. We need to keep them safe. Your job is protecting them, at any cost."

Loki nodded and knelt beside Steve. "C'mon. We've only got as long as they can give us." Loki lifted Steve's arm to get him to his feet.

Loki and Anastasia took a running leap off the cafe roof, Steve stopped short. Loki was floating back up to him. "Jump. Trust me." He held his hand out, his eyes sure that Steve could trust him.

And Steve did.

He jumped and felt weightless as he saw Anastasia smile and then pull. She took off running and the two guys flew behind her.

As she passed Iron Man and Hulk, she threw her hand out and they were weightlessly following her as well. She passed Thor and twisted to pick him up as well.

She finally came to a stop and set them all down by Black Widow and Hawkeye. "Loki, take ground. I got the sky!"

Loki twisted and as he brought the staff around like a bat, she jumped, curling into the fetal position and kicked off his swing with the staff and acrobatically landed on a roof. Loki turned and gently pounded his staff down. He stood at the ready. "Let's hope I don't have to fight."


End file.
